Leaker here is Brad Lynch, who generally seems reliable as a leaker for Valve software and products. He was also the source for the leaked renders of the steam controller.

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[–] 105 points 6 months ago (41 children)

That controller is the lynchpin for making a mini PC my future home theater center. I care for it more than the steam machine

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  • [–] 21 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I hear yeah, I want that Controller, its everything I asked for after using the Deck plus more. My Steam Account is preloaded with Money cause I remember when the Steam Deck went pre order the payment processing couldnt keep up. Frame is interesting. But probably way to expensive for the little interest I have.

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  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I know you didn't ask but i recommend looking into a rii mini keyboard with trackpad as well.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago*

    Got the Rii 4 recently to use with my Steam Deck since I got tired of my Roku I bought 6 years ago sending telemetry/statistics outbound (and getting blocked by my PiHole/router combo) that I unplugged it and threw it into a drawer. Excellent little piece of kit!

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Look up the Logitech k400. All my home theaters have computers and they all have that keyboard hahaha

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    Same! It's perfection.

    I was reading that comment and thinking, how will you type!?
    I hope it's not the same horrendous on screen keyboard as with the previous controller.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    It’s okay, if it’s the steam deck type. Each thumb is half a keyboard. It’s okay… but it’s not anything like having a nice full size TLK keyboard with a touchpad! I would LOVE a wireless mech touchpad keyboard that can switch between devices. I have a RK 98 keyboard that can do wireless2.4, wired, and three BT devices—my dream is that keyboard but with a touchpad built in! Alas, the k400 is the best we can get right now, and that’s okay. My only issue was figuring out how we kept enabling and disabling tap-to-click… it took us YEARS to realize we were accidentally hitting FN+clic! x3

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  • [–] -4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (30 children)

    Same. I desperately hope they release a version with the regular thumbstick layout instead of the PlayStation layout that's on the Deck.

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  • [–] 23 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (27 children)

    "Regular" thumbstick layout? PlayStation's was first.

    EDIT: I see you edited your comment to remove "regular". Thank you! I've always been able to use either kind just fine, but I do prefer symmetrical, probably because I play a lot of 2D games and actually use the d-pad.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (9 children)

    This controller was peak design. I was using a DS3 as my go to pc controller for years before the sticks died.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (8 children)

    I keep rebuilding the same DS4 controller as it's ideal as a PC controller, both wired and Bluetooth protocol. But it keeps breaking or wearing down on me and parts keep going up in price and the dang thing is getting beat up. I looked into the 8-bitdo controllers but I didn't care for the only one they had with the DS layout, their retro one.

    I'll heavily consider the Steam Controller 2 if the price and quality is right.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    I love every 8bitdo I own. The pro2 is great, aside from the Nintendo face button labels, it’s become my daily driver and dev controller.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (3 children)

    I'm the opposite, Xbox button labels drive me crazy. I learned the layout on the SNES, so it's hard for me to adjust. I've gotten better since playing more PC games on my Steam Deck since the XBox layout is the default, though I always choose PS button prompts if the game has the option.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Universal glyphs are better imo. In my head I call them north, south, east, west instead of a, b, x, y (I’m pretty sure that’s how the facebuttons are labeled in the Linux kernel, regardless of Xbox,Nintendo,ps)

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago

    Roommate has one and I didn't like the feel as much as the DS4 and the DS4 is cheaper than the DS5. But I had been considering the DS4 over the 8-bitdo, and this is so minor, but I liked that the DS controllers had the speaker compatibility with Death Stranding 1 and 2 to add some little sound effects to the game. Tho those are the only two games I've seen it work with on the PC so it's so so minor.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    The PS1 controller was my first real PC controller btw, with an adapter! Back then it was such a blast to play emulation with such a great controller. As other PC controllers sucked for the most part.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (14 children)

    "DEBATE ME"

    lol but seriously who cares who's first if we're going with who's thumbstick layout was first then it's n64 and I think we agree nobody wants that

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  • [–] 10 points 6 months ago (13 children)
    1. Wii, Wii U, and Steam Deck (soon Steam Controller) did it that way

    2. N64 wasn't dual analog, so not relevant since it wasn't symmetrical or asymmetrical.

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  • [–] -3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (12 children)

    n64 is relevant in any discussion about analog sticks on console controllera

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    The layout was very very non standard and had a single stick. I’m smoking a lot of weed but I can tell you the n64 controller doesn’t count here.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 child)

    I said it was first I didn't say it was standard. But being the first it definitionally can't be "nonstandard" since it was the only one at the time!

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (6 children)

    I'll just include consoles that came with symmetrical or asymmetrical for simplicity's sake:

    Symmetrical:

    PS2: 160 million

    PS3: 87 million

    PS4: 117 million

    PS5: 92 million

    Wii U: 14 million

    Symmetrical total: 470 million

    Asymmetrical:

    Xbox: 24 million

    Xbox 360: 84 million

    Xbox One: 58 million

    Xbox Series X: 35 million

    Gamecube: 21 million

    Switch: 155 million

    Switch 2: 17 million

    Asymmetrical total: 394 million

    More people have played on symmetrical controllers than asymmetrical.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I prefer assymetrical xbox style for modern games where the analog stick is more important than dpad. For oldschool games I prefer the dpad on the outside (symmetrical) like Playstation does. Just my opinion.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Similar opinion here! What I’ve noticed since the NES, is that my hands are largely symmetrical, and so the better layout depends more on the game than anything. For example, Microsoft had the advantage for a long time in racing games! Longer triggers giving better control, left stick in a spot making symmetry with the face buttons so everything goes naturally over steering, throttle, brake and whatever the face buttons do in the specific game, maybe turbo or…

    Similarly, that layout favors games where camera control isn’t important (or possible) like action games, platformers and so on, focusing on movement and actions.

    Now, the symmetrical sticks? They are perfect for things like fps, as the hands will be comfortably over the same spots: both thumbs on analogs, index and middle fingers over shoulder buttons and if there’s back buttons even a better alternative to face buttons!

    And as mentioned in another comment, the Steam Deck has everything on the same level, making it perfect for anything. <3

    I have played so much that nowadays I don’t even notice the difference in layout so much, be it the Dual Sense for games that support it or the GameSir Cyclone 2 for the rest (TMR sticks!) but what I DO notice is the not anymore start and select. Press “mystery button” to open the menu and I’m there, trying to figure out if it’s the one on the right or left side…

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  • [–] -3 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

    hardly any of those are still in production by that logic a regular TV is a crt lol

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    The PlayStation controller is the same as a SNES controller, but with two sticks and finger grips.

    Xbox took thier controller design from the Dreamcast. Which came out long after the SNES, and before the xbox.

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  • [–] 51 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (12 children)

    I guess worth noting for Steam newbies:

    The trackpads can be configured to act as basically any possible kind of input.

    You can break them down into 4 way buttons, 8 way buttons, 2 buttons, one button... make them work as a joystick, or as a mouse... they click in a bit at multiple points...

    So, if you prefer a different kind of thumbstick orientation, you can basically emulate it.

    Literally all of the buttons on one of these things can be reconfigured to do a whole bunch of crazy shit, you can make macros, you can make it so that a little hud popup with scrollable selectable options pop up, you can make combos of key presses do different specific inputs, you can make a turbo function.... etc.

    Hell, you can make the gyros act as a mouse/joystick input, in several different modes, maybe only when you hold the aim button down, if you want that.

    Anything you run through Steam can be made to work this way with the Steam Input system they invented for with the Steam Deck, the Steam Controller 2.0 is basically a shrunk down Steam Deck without the PC and screen.

    EDIT:

    There is also an onscreen keyboard functionality, which pops up a keyboard overlay, and then you use both trackpads as basically two thumbs on a smart phone, sort of.

    So, if you're playing a game that is 99% controller input, but has a few UIs popups where you get prompted to type in your name or something like that, or I guess even a chat box in an mmo, you can handle it with this.

    Also also: Most/Many games come with preset default Steam Input layouts made by the developers. Also, Everyone who uses Steam is capable of basically uploading their control schema for any game to the cloud, and then you are capable of grabbing it and using it.

    So, with some games, the developer provided inputs are good, sometimes users develop alternate schemes that are actually better/quite popular, or, maybe you could be the one to make a better config that people like!

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  • [–] 21 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    If they're the same track pads as on the Steam Deck they don't actually physically click in anywhere, but they have really good pressure sensitivity and can be configured to deliver a haptic feedback "click" back to your thumb when you press hard enough. It feels just like clicking a physical button, but it's all a clever electronic illusion.

    To test this on a Deck, try clicking with the unit switched off and keep trying as you hit the power button and it starts up.

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  • [–] 16 points 6 months ago

    To test this on a Deck, try clicking with the unit switched off and keep trying as you hit the power button and it starts up.

    I genuinely thought my Deck had a defect when the trackpads didn't click when it was asleep. Like I had somehow ruined the trackpads.

    The haptic feedback is so god damn good, it fooled me.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    And the haptics feel fantastic, you can't really judge it correctly without feeling it

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago

    I really like how rotating the camera works on the track pad - the right track pad works as a right joystick, but crucially has momentum. So I could do a quick swipe on the pad and the camera would continue moving for a moment after. It also allows fine speed control by changing how quickly I swipe. Once I got used to it, I could make very quick and accurate orientation changes. Much better than joystick imo where you have to hold it down, using up your thumb for a second or two while you turn. As a bonus, the track pad also could be used as buttons so your thumb is already in position to get mashing again.

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  • [–] -4 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    I don’t like fiddling with configuring a controller. On consoles it typically just works.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago

    There is a system for official or community configurations, on a per game basis. Being able to customize that further, and easily, is the best of all words, and I very often wish one could do something similar on consoles.

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  • [–] 35 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    Will pay a frankly humiliating amount of money to get one of these ASAP. My OG Steam Controller (my second, in fact) is on death's door.

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  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I hear you. I preloaded my Steam with 150cad. During the steam deck pre order the hold up when the website worked was payment processors.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    I broke my first steam controller, and an old xbox controller, beating the final boss of Sekiro. My replacement is more-or-less a shelf ornament at the moment due to its irreplaceable nature. That old man's got a lot to answer for.

    I will also be at the front of the queue for this. Hesitation is defeat, after all.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago

    This is the only new valve hardware I am interested in. I love the steam deck track pads, so having them on a controller will be awesome.

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago (7 children)

    I want this controller, but I am so annoyed that no controller on the planet comes with separated directional buttons for the D-Pad. Accidental diagonal input is the bane of my existence. The Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons have separate buttons and I freaking love it! But the ONLY reason they did that is to allow them to serve as ABXY when held sideways. No "real" controller does this.

    The only option I've found to achieve this is to get a PlayStation controller (PS4 or PS5), and mod it with a kit that separates the buttons under the faceplate. But the extra features of the Steam Controller sound too good to sacrifice just for that.

    The only D-Pad I've ever actually liked is the 3DS (XL), because it's so clicky and never caused accidental diagonal input. Seriously, how do people accept this crap?

    So yeah, I really hope the D-Pad on this is clicky. I'll probably be buying it either way.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Xbox Series controller dpad is very clicky and well defined, so accidental diagonal inputs aren’t a concern with that one.
    There’s likely a number of other similar clicky dpads on the market nowadays, it’s been popularised again with quite a few retro handhelds.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    I mean, arguably... it isn't a D Pad if its actually seperate buttons.

    But anyway, with the Steam Deck, which the Steam Controller 2.0 is basically a scaled down version of, that doesn't have the whole computer and screen... you can at least get after market uh... contact boards?

    I'm not sure of the term, but like the internal platter board thing, that the dpad/abxy buttons actually physically connect to, with the trigger/switch mechanisms.

    For my deck, I got a kit that replaces the original ones with ones that are much 'clickier', like a mechanical keyboard as compared to a membrane keyboard.

    It has more tactile and also audio feedback, beyond just being more responsive... that was like $30 bucks or something?

    For a while, it was the case that to do this kind of mod, you'd have to do your own solder, but I waited and eventually somebody in China somewhere started making ones that are pre-soldered, and just require an appropriate screw driver and some dexterity to install.

    So... if the Steam Controller takes off, I'd say give it 6 months, and by then something similar will probably exist for it.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    luckily the steam controller is very configurable. All the buttons can be remapped, with layers, for basically anything you could imagine. I have an OG steam controller that I use to play helldivers 2. The OG steam controller does not have a D pad at all, and D pad input is very important in that game. Normally you hold LB and then use the D pad to input stuff. So for the steam controller, I added a layer where when holding LB (and only when holding LB) the ABXY buttons become a D pad. So it's ABXY or a D pad depending on the context and proper layers mean I don't even have to think about it. I'm sure if the D pad on this one isn't clicky enough, you could do something like that.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    It's an interesting thought, but no amount of software is going to conjure up new physical buttons. You pretty much always need to use the ABXY buttons at the same time as the D-pad, so this remapping trick wouldn't be possible.

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Oh snap it's got the Playstation joystick config.... I kinda want this to replace my dying DS4 I've repaired a few times now. I wonder how easy it'll be to reach over those pads and touch the sticks

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago

    I have a bunch of nice controllers that all work on my gaming PC and Macs, etc.

    But I’ll probally buy one of these too. I feel like it’s compulsory in a weird nagging way.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago

    Gimme gimme gimme

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago
    [–] 17 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    this is the only controller than will retire my alpakka 1

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

    I'm waiting years for this, even longer than the Steam Deck exists! I think that I buy it twice, one to use it and the second one as collection (and backup). :-) (Edit: typo, I didn't meant unpacked)

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago* (6 children)

    Yay. My Playstation controller is at the point where it needs to be replaced. It's got both battery capacity issues and charging issues. I'm hoping that the Steam controller lasts longer than the PS4 Pro controller b/c for the price that Sony charges, I'd expect those to last longer than mine has, especially given how little time I spend playing / using it.

    I've been looking forward to the Steam controller. I was starting to think I should give up and just go get another PS controller. Granted, I'm sure I won't get a first release Steam controller. They'll have a limited quantity and wouldn't surprise me if they're gone by the time that the steam store has recovered from the outage and bugs that crop up every time a new product goes on sale.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    Didn’t the PS4 Pro controller come out 10 years ago?

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (3 children)

    I'm not sure when they came out. Why would it matter, though?

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

    Why would t it matter? Does age not matter when it comes to how an electronic is expected to perform? I don’t expect to get more than 10 years Of perfect play out of any controller. Whether it stick drift or buttons wearing out or whatever the case may be. Nothing lasts forever even in perfect conditions. Not to mention the battery is the quickest thing the degrade anyhow. How often do you even see miniUSB cables?

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Why would t it matter? Does age not matter when it comes to how an electronic is expected to perform? I don’t expect to get more than 10 years Of perfect play out of any controller.

    You do know that not everybody who owns a PS4 controller bought them on day 1 when they were originally released, right? That it's possible people like myself bought them much later than in 2016, correct? And you also realize that the problems I'm talking about -- those didn't start yesterday.

    How often do you even see miniUSB cables?

    Literally daily.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    Ok, but you do realize that even if you didn’t purchase it day 1, that the battery begins decaying from the first day it’s created right? And maybe you’re not in the US, but at least where I’m at you have to go out of your way to purchase a miniUSB cable.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I have a setup with my Dualsense Edge (and Steam Deck) for FPS games where I use flick stick and gyro to aim, and swipe on the touchpad to switch weapons. It works disgustingly well. I play FPS games on controller now.

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  • [+] 7 points 6 months ago (5 children)
  • [–] [S] 10 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    The issue with the first one is that it loses basic controller functionality for the touchpads. Many games that come with controller support don't work well on it without adjusting the controls.

    The new steam controller should be fully functional as a standard controller, while having a lot more capabilities when the user can use them.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    The trackpads on the deck are nice, it's a great substitute for a mouse when you don't have a mouse. But that's all they are. Not a single game* has done anything to show off any greater potential. Binding ten keyboard keys into a dodgy ring menu is not a pleasant interface. I have never once wanted to use a trackpad as a redundant joystick input. I would like to freely pan around with one pad and point with the other - imagine that in a puzzle box game. Nothing can do this, the closest to an independent view control i've found is "bind mouse wheel up/down buttons to vertical swipes".

    Heck, I would like a water filled toy game where you just press the pads to squirt rings upwards, and it feels just a little bit haptically squooshy. Nobody has done even that much to make a game feel truly at home on the Deck with the deck's controls.

    The new controller looks nice, but I don't see any reason for it to replace the lowest-common-denominator xbox style controller. Especially when there are some really good xbox clones with magnetic sticks being sold for super cheap.

    *okay, there's Aperture Desk Job. That hardly adds up to a game, it's basically the manual that comes with the Deck controller. I've spent more time playing the PC Jr's bios tutorial.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    Just a note, as someone who owns a Stream controller ignore the sticks, it's the pads you should be using.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago
    [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    Maybe get some Decks back in, first...

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